Shattered Star: The Asylum Stone [IC]

[LazarX]

Spoiler

Show

Will Saves +2 vs enchantment/charm effects +2 vs transmuttion

(d20+10)[26]
(d20+10)[20]
(d20+10)[16]

[lostsole31]

R8T19: As if listening to voices whispered inside her, Telly looks at Erima. To any normal person, Erima would be vanquished, but a hissing sussuration in her mind tells her that her enemy is not yet defeated. She performs a coup de grace on Erima, using a weapon uniquely designed for just such a task. Erima's head is removed, and her body returns to normal size, and her crystalline axe shatters to a hundred crumbling pieces.

R8T18: Static emits from Red, though at the time only Telgarana's mind feels it. Red comes out of its hole and mental energy enters into Bian Jin's mind.

R8T11: Bian Jin, roll a Will save, followed by a Fort save!

Telly, roll a Will save (Red's static)!

Iluvar on deck, Green in the hole ...

[Qazgir]

Jin

Spoiler: Saves

Show

Will Save: (1d20)[9]
Fort Save: (1d20+11)[16]
+2 racial bonus on saves vs. disease & mind-affecting effects
-1 penalty on saves vs. sonic effects & spells

[lostsole31]

R8T11: Some of the insane received mercy when they were killed. But for Bian Jin, it is horror, not mercy. A monster straight out of his homeland's collective nightmares appears and attacks him ... in his mind. Outside of his mind, Bian Jin screams in high-pitched terror before his heart stops and he falls down stone dead.

End Round 8, Beginning Round 9 ...

R9T27: Iluvar, in the distance you hear a scream that carries and echoes in the tunnel. It was the sound of a man (or woman) pushed beyond the possible bounds of terror. What do you do?

Telly, roll a Will save (Red's static)!

Green on deck, The Scribe in the hole ...

[Tippnick]

Iluvar steels himself to either fight these monsters or his friends. He casts a spell and the concentrates and steps through a portal.

Spoiler: let's go

Show

SA: Divine favor
SwA: (if possible enter crane style, if not will wait)
MA: abundant step to 20 feet south of the creatures where he last saw them

[lostsole31]

R9T27: Iluvar steels himself to either fight these monsters or his friends. He casts a spell, gets into a fighting stance, and then concentrates as he disappears from his current spot ... to a spot where he sees scenes of death and current combat. He is just outside a hallway filled with mist that extends southwards as far as the glare from so many halflight charms allow him to see. Only Telly and The Scribe stand well to the south, though he does not know there state. As for himself, that style of travel is so jarring that it takes him out of stance.

R9T25: More mental static from Green to wash over Telly. Green then comes out into the passageway, "hustling" in its slug-like movements over dead bodies.

R9T24: The Scribe looks at the dreadful scenes of death. He sees Iluvar appear to the north, and the hallway now obstructed by these accursed things. He keeps his position, and at the top of his lungs begins orating a famous Pathfinder story that Iluvar has heard before, steeling Iluvar's limbs with vigor and courage. He doesn't close, though.

R9T22: Mental static from Blue washes over Telly and Iluvar's mind. It then waves the short sword in its tail-tentacle defensively as it drifts way back into the side passage.

R9T19: Without missing a beat Telly is focused on killing, and with Blue having moved away, there's a man to the south with a big staff that needs to die. She casts shocking grasp on her blade and closes on the Scribe. He tries to disarm her but it is a weak attempt. As she stands before him she uses arcane power to focus on his weaknesses, but even with that, he senses her psychological weaknesses and blocks the attack.

R9T18: Mental static washes out from Red to roll over Iluvar. It moves out into the hallway over bodies, and is very defensive.

End Round 9, Begin Round 10 ...

R10T27: Iluvar, roll one Will save save (Red's static)! Then, I need you to roll one Will save pre-emptively for the static you'll receive from Green. What do you do?

Telly, roll three Will saves (Red, Green and Blue's static)!

[LazarX]

Spoiler

Show

Will Saves +2 vs enchantment/charm effects +2 vs transmuttion


(d20+10)[28]
(d20+10)[27]
(d20+10)[11]

[Tippnick]

Spoiler: will saves

Show

+6 vs enchantments
(d20+17)[22] vs red
(d20+17)[22] vs green
(d20+17)[25] vs green

Iluvar calls out to the Scribe and Telgarana, "This does not look good. What is the plan?"


He then concentratrates and jumps through the air to attack green.

Spoiler: om the attack

Show

Swa: bring up the purity judgement
FRa: flurry of blows
Flying kick stunning fist
(d20+17)[19] dc 19
Damage (d10+5)[14]
(d20+17)[37]
Damage (d10+5)[8]
Iterative
(d20+12)[32]
Damage (d10+5)[10]

[Tippnick]

Spoiler: crits

Show

Iluvar has the crit threats

(d20)[17]
(d20)[6]

[lostsole31]

R10T27: The Pharasmin monk's judgments return, including FH3, though he quickly takes a measure to mentally ask for different blessings. Iluvar calls out to the Scribe and Telgarana, "This does not look good. What is the plan?"

He then concentrates and jumps through the air to attack Green. His power was almost lost, and it seems Green was defending with everything it could. and blocks the attack. Iluvar leaps upwards with an elbow to rattle its skull for 15 mod, then a snap kick for a second but softer crit for 6 mod. It's then that Iluvar realizes this strange mist has a deleterious effect, but he is able to resist that as well. It is pretty definite that while he is throwing out some powerful punches, even his crits are having significantly reduced effects.

"They're aberrations, Iluvar!" the Scribe calls.

R10T25: Mental static flares out from Green, and Iluvar resists handily. With Iluvar standing so close, he notes that the monster's wounds are knitting (FH5). It moves back a few feet, and piercing mental energy attacks Iluvar, but he resists this as well.

R10T24: The Scribe continues his oration, but peppers in what he can with shouts from down the hallway. "Spell resistant. They can modify impulses of the insane to suit their needs. Immune to mental effects themselves as well as poison. Can use any magical or psionic item expertly."

All of this verbosity succesfully served to act as a good fake-out, but The Scribe still failed his intended action ... as he tried to reach in from the top of Telly's clothing to grab the lanyard that has the Shard of Greed, but even then he was unlucky or she is too good (likely the latter). Still at blinding speed, he hops up on top of the merchant cart, moves to the other side, hops down from the forward end, rushes forth across bodies - all the while acrobatically to keep out of reach of the elven swordswoman and seugathi, and finally a vicious strike against Green that seems to just drift right through its hardened defenses to hit it for 15 + 6 fire.

"Iluvar, flank!"

R10T22: Blue moves up to the edge of the side passage, and its tentacles wave. Iluvar feels his divine favor spell ripped from him.

"We've got to..." the Scribe begins again.

R10T19: With The Scribe having tried to steal a valuable artifact from Telly, she is having none of it and she charges him. With her off-balance on the charge, he just manages to trip her.

R10T18: Mental static from Red. It uses a wand in its tail to fire several bolts of arcane force at The Scribe, but the monster is enraged when it realizes that human is protected by a shield spell, completely nullifying the attack.

End Round 10, Begin Round 11 ...

R11T27: Iluvar, you need to make one Will save (Red's static). Meanwhile, FH3. What do you do?

Telly, roll five Will saves (Redx2, Green & Blue's static .... and finally Red's passive AoE effect)!

[Tippnick]

Iluvar moves to the south west quickly to flank aberration and launches his attack.

Spoiler: crunch

Show

Will save +6 vs enchantments + 2 for purity (not added)
(d20+17)[20]


SwA: activate bane aberration
5ft step to the SW for the flank
FRA: Flurry of blows: flanking: bane (not added)
(d20+17)[36]
Damage (d10+5)[12]
Bane (2d6)[6]
Precise Strike (d6)[3]

Flurry
(d20+17)[19]
Damage (d10+5)[11]
Bane (2d6)[8]
Precise Strike (d6)[3]

Iterative
Roll]d20+12[/roll]
Damage (d10+5)[7]
Bane (2d6)[3]
Precise Strike (d6)[2]

[LazarX]

Spoiler

Show

Will Saves +2 vs enchantment/charm effects +2 vs transmuttion


(d20+10)[25]
(d20+10)[13]
(d20+10)[26]

(d20+10)[29]
(d20+10)[25]

really?

[lostsole31]

R11T27: Iluvar stumbles a step, and it is his purity judgment that saves him from damnation. He moves to the southwest quickly to flank the aberration and launches his attack. He demi-voltes into a low crouch facing away to give a low elbow to the seugathi for 11 mod; attempts a high chagi kick over his shoulder that gets deflected, and then spins back around for a right jab that is likewise deflected as Green was focused on defense.

"...either save Telgarana..." continues the Scribe.

R11T25: Green's mental static flows outwards. This time, the continued assault even against so mighty a mind as Iluvar's cannot take the pressure and Iluvar feels the static. Green then concentrates, and rips away the haste effect on The Scribe. The Scribe can't help but let out a little chuckle.

R11T24: The Scribe stops speaking to Iluvar, realizing that Iluvar's demeanor has changed, though he continues his oration for himself. He switches to a less defensive stance for speed, and begins more acrobatic legerdemain. Instead of going around, he jumps up on Red, rolls over its back to the east and then south until he attacks with his ranseur simultaneously at Red and Telly, even though Red is 15' away. The dual-attack fails, but he does command the attention of the room.

R11T22: Mental static from Blue. Seeing Green tear away something of magic, Blue uses its wand on The Scribe, only to find that whatever magic was taken, it wasn't the shield spell.

R11T19: Telly seethes, recovering from the charge and then standing. The Scribe tries to disarm her but fails miserably and has to drop his polearm. Xin-Rithux' light gutters out now that it is no longer held, though that at least cuts down on glare in the passage. She steps forward to attack with a single devastating stroke, but the sword glances off of his mithral shirt without discharging.

R11T18: Mental static from Red ...

Telly, roll eight Will saves .... Red static; Green static; Blue static; Red's passive AoE effect; Red's second static; Green's second static; Blue's second static; Finally, Red's most recent static that ends this round.

[lostsole31]

R11T18: Mental static from Red ... along with the continuous onslaught she's received from these inconceivable horrors, Telly's mind finally and fully snaps, and she laughs maniacally.

End Round 11, Begin Round 12 ...

R12T27: Iluvar (FH3) tries to control his ailing mind with prayers to the Gray Lady, but (as Green twitches), the mental torture is too much and he tries to control himself through physical pain, doing 6 to himself.

R12T25: Static from Green as it slugs over dead bodies back into the side passage, and just barely manages to finally tear away the shield spell from The Scribe.

R12T24: The Scribe continues his stories of Pathfinders old. He fails again to grap the lanyard from the prone Telly and then zooms south while he can just to the very edge of the dim light, dodging so as not to get his ankles cut.

R12T22: Static from Blue, and bolts of arcane force follow The Scribe to hit him squarely this time.

R12T19: Telly recovers from her charge and stands and turns on the slug, only to hurt herself for 7.

R12T18: Static from red as it goes into the side passage, and then with its wand also zaps The Scribe with three bolts.

End Round 12, Begin Round 13 ...

R13T27: Iluvar, you get FH3. You need to roll three Will saves (static from all three). If you succeed on all three, what do you do?

Green on deck, The Scribe in the hole ...

[Tippnick]

Spoiler: crucial will saves

Show

Static will saves
Red
(d20+17)[24]
Green
(d20+17)[34]
Blue[d20+17[roll]

Iluvar shouts to scribe "I will try to get the piece she brought with her!" Hopefully in a code they aberrations do not understand.

He moves to the northwest of his friend, fellow half-elf, fellow survivor of their adventures in Korvosa. "I hope the Gray Lady directs you fast to your final rest."

Spoiler: steal the thing

Show

SwA: Change healing judgment to justice
MA: move 30 feet south (plan is to be nw of Telly) in reach of the amulet and a valuable staff.
SA: Steal the amulet off her neck
(d20+13)[15]

[lostsole31]

R13T27: A few seconds prior was but an errant run in Iluvar's mind. This time, his mind easily rallies against all three of the seugathi. Iluvar shouts to The Scribe, "I will try to get the piece she brought with her!" Hopefully the aberrations do not understand the surface common of Taldane, but given their telepathic prowess, there is poor hope in that.

He moves to the northwest of his friend, fellow half-elf, and fellow survivor of their adventures in Korvosa. "I hope the Gray Lady directs you fast to your final rest."

She was focused to the south and on herself when his hand reaches around to grab the shard on the lanyard under her tunic. She spins around and easily bats his clumsy attempt away, though he likewise deflects her riposte.

R13T25: Green's static washes out, and Iluvar is almost caught off guard, having to fight with his great purity to maintain himself. A wave of area mental energy hammers around Iluvar, but while it stirs up the same type of confusion, it is of a lower order than the static and Iluvar easily ignores it. It moves out into the hallway.

R13T24: The Scribe continues his inspiration, hoping the echoes of the hallway do not diminish anything for Iluvar. He takes out his wand, and has to really pull upon a prayer to make it work to give him another use of shield. He steps forward a few feet, but more behind the cart. His wounds from getting list up by magic start to show (15).

R13T22: Blue's static is like Green's ... and Iluvar feels his entire nervous system overwrought and jittery from the effort to ignore the indescribable cacophony in his mind. Iluvar might not have noticed it before, but as the last wound Blue had suffered seals up, Iluvar is suddenly struck with the realization that the monsters have a healing factor he was unaware of. Blue moves forward and with its fellows it blocks the northern and side passageways. Blue does a directed mental attack, just like Green did, but at this point it is more pathetic than attritive against the powerful monk's mind.

R13T19: As of the last of the extra "oomph" her weapon had given her goes away, Telly says something in a foreign language to her sword. The faint thrum of power restarts and even more visible arcane energy transfers from Telly to her black bladed katana. But that energy she just put into her sword must be something, because her nose begins to bleed and her features seem flushed. Her sword is now wreathed in flame, practically roaring and crackling. She doesn't go for power, but she does go for penetrating accuracy as she makes a direct stab into Iluvar's stomach for 21 + 6 fire. She then steps to the south to cut off a straight-run retreat.

R13T18: The static from Red is easily ignored. Yet another directed mental attack against Iluvar, which he again ignores. And now Red moves out into the hallway, seemingly cutting off retreat, unless Iluvar were to run deep into the seugathi's own home side passage.

End Round 13, Begin Round 14 ...

R14T27: Iluvar, what do you do?

Green on deck, The Scribe in the hole ...

[Tippnick]

Spoiler: crunch time

Show

SwA: change band to elf
SA: steal amulet from Telgarana's neck
(d20+13)[18] (justice and bane not added)
MA: If successful abundant step 200 feet south: if not: will adopt crane style: if that is not possible then will 5 ft step to the north

[lostsole31]

R14T27: Iluvar, committed now, focuses on defeating his now-enemy, his fellow half-elf Telgarana. While she successfully repels him, she seems too tired to be able to parry and riposte, which would be her normal tactic. This tells Iluvar that her arcane well is empty, and that is just what's on her blade now. He goes into Crane Style.

R14T25: Iluvar ignores Green's static, and then the directed mental attack. Green moves closer a few feet.

R14T24: The Scribe continues his oration and studies Telly. He puts his wand away, but also speed zips to flank with Iluvar to trip Telgarana. He grimaces before he does it, but curb stomps Telgarana with a crit to her thinky bits for 29 + 1 INT. "Iluvar, you get that shard, you go north as far as you've been or can see, and then open datum. Don't go backwards."

R14T22: Mental static from Blue, which is ignored easily by Iluvar, though the Scribe struggles some. Blues closes off all lines of escape for Iluvar that don't involve jumping over the fallen half-elf. A directed attack washes over Iluvar and The Scribe.

R14T19: Telgarana goes to stand. Iluvar snap kicks her arm for 22 while she deflects The Scribe's attack. It's at this point that Iluvar realizes that he is being flanked by Telly and Green. She slashes, deep into his hand, right in between the index and middle fingers of his left hand and her fiery katana flares up spectacularly for 25 + 7 fire. Iluvar cries out in pain and distress.

The Scribe's eyes go wide, "Iluvar, go!"

R14T18: Mental static and directed mental attack from Red, even as it inches a little southwards, leaving a slight physical gap again.

End Round 14, Begin Round 15 ...

R15T27: Iluvar, what do you do?

Green on deck, The Scribe in the hole ...

[Tippnick]

"Datum?",Iluvar questions.

Spoiler: The Endgame

Show

SA: Steal
(d20+13)[21]
if successful MA: abundant step 80 feet north
If not SwA: to change justice to Healing

[lostsole31]

R15T27: "Datum?" Iluvar questions as he tussles with Telly in trying to steal that artifact. Finally, with a distraction from The Scribe, Iluvar is successful! He disappears from sight.

Sounds of anguished, unearthly screams. He hears something coming up the passageway in the dark, but now he, too is in the dark. Before reactive punches are thrown, Xin-Rithux lights up in The Scribe's hands. "Quickly, let's begone from this bedeviled pit!"

[lostsole31]

Iluvar couldn't help notice that The Scribe is alive and fighting off death, though the monk learned long ago that is a very misleading reading on his deathwatch eyes. A seasoned adventurer could have a light wound and be far, far from falling over, but either from a reduction in luck, a little bit of battle exhaustion, or perhaps a solid contusion or cut ... that's as fine a reading as his magic item can give on living creatures. That was never its purpose, of course, as it was more for those who are dead, dying, undead, or other.

After walking for a little bit, using only the light of The Scribe's flaming ranseur rather than the halflight charms, The Scribe says, trying to muster some compassion as he often comes off clinical. "Iluvar .... we should stop for just a second. You are in a bad way, my friend. Have you healing for yourself?"

When Iluvar looks at The Scribe, the reading has changed, as The Scribe is no longer "fighting off death," but is "healthy."

[Tippnick]

"Right you are, Scribe, best be prepared" ,Iluvar agrees with the scribe.
He begins to heal himself.

Spoiler: pause for healing

Show

Cmw: (2d8+8)[22]

(2d8+8)[17]

(2d8+8)[19]

Clw
(d8+5)[8]

(d8+5)[7]

(d8+5)[12]

(d8+5)[7]

(d8+5)[12]

"What is our first priority once we get to the city? Does anyone Kaer Maga even care about this?", he gestures back the way they came. "Tell me about this city."

[lostsole31]

"I can tell you interesting historical tidbits and hearsay, but no matter how much I've studied," he answers, "and no matter how much I've read about a place, it never does well to lean on the printed word instead of the living pulse of the city. I'll tell you as we go."

The young man signs as you begin again (it is so easy to forget he is in his early 20s), and he sees that it was quite a spellcasting effort combined with the day for Iluvar (3 CMWs, 2 CLWs) to feel tip top again.

"We need to report to the Duskwardens what happened, especially the fall of their man - give a full reporting, for we know they'll send men in to beat the seugathi back. They'll need to prepare any who go in to fight and shore up the tunnels with meditation tea - before they go to bed to rest for the excursion, and then several vials with them once they go.

"We need to find a place to lay low, set up a base of operations in a flop somewhere. Telly kept demanding on the boat ride that we surely had a more focused plan than we did, but that's because as smart as she was I think other people were mission planners so just had to be ... aimed. It's not like that. Not everything we Pathfinders do is painted in neon lights so we know where to go. I think with you checking in with the Shard of Lust - or me, we'll talk more at length about that - given what things were like with this before, since you don't know, if it is in the city, we're not likely to have it easily guide us to a single outcropping type of place. No, we're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way, and it's going to take time. So ... plan? In the works right now.

"Truth be told, I have a couple things I've had people in Magnimar ask of me, and they might be useful just in helping us take time to get a feel for the city. But .... food and shelter, Iluvar. Really, that simple to start."

Iluvar and The Scribe will likely have more discussion on the walk.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

.... if the Discord RP channel for Iluvar is used.

When at last the travelers emerge, sweating and out of breath, they do so in a bunker-like structure of stone and mortar just a stone’s throw outside a district known as the Warren, allowing easy entrance to the city.

The Scribe looks around, seeing that there is no Duskwarden manning the bunker and says, "Okay, then. I guess the first thing we do will be to hire ourselves a guide, and have them guide us to the Duskwarden Guildhouse. I know it is in a place called Bis, but I've never been here before ... unless you have a better idea?"

[lostsole31]

The Scribe is sure to give Iluvar - as requested - a quick primer on what (little) he knows of Kaer Maga, the City of Strangers.



Kaer Maga is possibly the oldest settlement in Varisia, and is certainly one of the most mysterious. Rather than being constructed as a typical city, the structure is instead an enormous hexagonal stone ring many hundreds of feet thick, with its citizens living in the vast hollows and stacked empty chambers inside the stone walls themselves rather than in the open space in the ring’s center. Diverse and cosmopolitan, with no centralized government, the City of Strangers has become famous throughout the region for its acceptance and anonymity, creating an anarcho-capitalist paradise of escaped slaves, thieves, heretics, marginalized social groups, and anyone else seeking to reinvent herself.

No one knows Kaer Maga’s true origins, yet a few of the most learned sages believe the monument was already standing when Xin founded the Thassilonian Empire, specifially the territory of Thassilon later ruled over by the Runelord of Greed.

Today, the city is a hub of commerce, a laissez-faire enclave of rival gangs and sects that protect their own while balancing each other out to ensure that no single faction ever gains too much power. The city-wide motto of “Your business is your business” means that organizations like the abolitionist Freemen can exist alongside orc slavetraders from Urglin, and priests of Pharasma alongside the zombie servitors of Ankar-Te. The city is rife with both monstrous residents—such as the “wormfolk” nagas and self-mutilating troll Augurs—and disturbing humanoid citizens, such as leech-covered bloatmages and lip-stitching Sweettalkers.

---

The two of you stand out front of an 80-foot-high section ..... of emptiness. Well, not at all emptiness, but where you come out to Kaer Maga, it is as if some unimaginably tall titan came through long ago and with one great heave burst open this section of wall. This is called the Gap, a massive break in the ring of Kaer Maga's walls where an ancient explosion or other catastrophe tore away thousands of pounds of stone. This carnage has been mostly filled in by the district called the Warren, a many-storied shantytown of rickety scaffolding and makeshift shacks, yet a wide corridor still runs through the center and plays host to a constant stream of traffic in and out of the city.

As soon as the pair enter the Gap, they’re swarmed by mobs of local children offering themselves as guides (and doing their best to quietly pick the PCs’ pockets while they’re
distracted—and failing miserably). One, however, immediately distinguishes himself by locking eyes with Iluvar. "Hail, Pathfinders!" he calls.

Perhaps 16 years old, the boy is skinny and wears ragged clothes, yet carries himself with a confidence his compatriots recognize, getting out of his way and leaving the PCs to him. "M'name's Gav Nahli, guvs, and I'm the best guide in the city!" he introduces himself with a deep, but respectful bow. "I congratulate the two of you on havin' the perspicacity to engage my services for the laughably low price of 5 gold coins per day."

[Tippnick]

"Well Gav Nahli, lead us to an inn with close access to the market or at least a market", Iluvar directs the young man.

[lostsole31]

The Scribe takes 5 gold from party treasury and hands it to him. "How did you recognize us as Pathfinders?"

He winks and says, "Musta' been a lucky guess, guv. Now there are markets throughout," and here he is walking (and we're walking, we're walking), leading you into the shadow of the Gap, "and most 'hoods got the means of getting scraps fit their way. It'll help me know where to take you if I know what you're wanting from our city. Just touring? Passing through? or specific things? A good answer from you means a great location from me."

Gav is indeed as talented a guide as he claims, and can easily give the PCs the rundown on the city and how it works, as well as finding them anything they need, from magical items (“The Wheel Unbroken is good for custom work, gov, but if you want cheap, it’s Gadka down at the corner of Fever Street and Half-a-Chicken Walk”) to the most exotic of brothels (“If you want ’em cold, it’s the White Lady up in Ankar-Te—there’s some things you just can’t do with a live girl, neh?”).

The Scribe makes a bold move verbally. "We're here seeking a specific magic item said to be hidden somewhere in the city."

"Right-o! There's prolly two best avenues of inquiry for that gov, the great library called the Therassic Spire, and the mysterious troll oracles called Augurs."

"But first," the Scribe cuts in, "we need to go to the Guildhouse of the Duskwardens in Bis to return these charms and inform them of the death of their man."

That quiets Gav some, "Poor blighter. Only fools and heroes what work at the Duskies, and those boys are full parts of the other. We on the surface owe our lives to the nutters there for keeping the monsters from coming up. Sure, guv. I'll take you."

[Tippnick]

Iluvar follows along and takes in the city. Trying to memorize how to navigate the streets. If he picks up any type of misdirection from their you guide he will speak up.

[lostsole31]

"Since you're going 'a Duskwardens, guv," Gav focuses on The Scribe since he paid, "We're gonna forgo the Gap. Instead, I'll bring you in at the southernmost portion of the overall, well, gap ... but not Gap with a capital 'G,' which includes that big long thoroughfare headin' southeast."

He takes you due south, paralleling a wide field of built-on rubble, and then enters the city through a narrow point between where the vast main wall picks up again heading south and other built-upon sections of the Warrens. Meanwhile, he is chattering away about his city, some of which you witness, and the rest that Gav tells you ...

The fabled Balconies of Bis are far and away one of the most recognizable landmarks in Kaer Maga, and no traveler who ventures among them ever forgets the sight. In the southwesternmost district of the city, called Bis, the multi-floored structure found in other Ring districts long ago fell and gave way to a single cavernous space, so vast that huddled but freestanding buildings rise several stories into the gloomy, foggy air. Yet it is not the crowded streets or the shocking amount of airspace within the chamber that makes newcomers stop short, but rather the fact that the people of Kaer Maga have literally climbed the walls to create more room for themselves, building fresh or repairing outcropping ledges of old masonry to line the chamber with eight stories of towering cliff dwellings.

In need of continual repair due to the strain placed upon them, the buttressed platforms of the Balconies rise up the eastern and western walls of the chamber like shelving or tree fungus, sometimes protruding hundreds of feet from the walls. While they tend to be small and separated from each other, with each balcony holding a few structures at most, there are generally at least three ledges on any vertical patch of wall, and sometimes as many as five, with the topmost structures brushing the ceiling. The means of accessing these structures vary, from narrow spiral staircases to ladders carved into the chamber wall itself, and the hassle involved in hoisting up any significant amount of material means that, in Bis, the height of one’s balcony frequently reflects one’s wealth and social standing. Though members of the powerful Ardoc family are above such petty games and live wherever they please (often near the Kiln for the sake of convenience), the rest of Bis has an unofficial system of social rank based on who lives higher than (and thus “shades”) whom, leading to the constant and sometimes ill-advised repair of aging balconies, and construction of new ones wherever possible.

In reality, of course, the idea of shading is somewhat ludicrous, as the entire cavern exists in a permanent twilight, with the lights of the businesses and homes on the Balconies creating a shimmering, twinkling waterfall. For the center of the district, where the light from the walls is merely decoration, the citizens have foregone streetlights in favor of enormous lanterns that hang from the ceiling 80 feet above at staggered intervals, like a swarm of motionless firef lies. These lamps are tended by the district-funded Lamplighters’ Union, who operate the complex system of ropes and pulleys necessary to keep the lamps suspended and frequently change their positions in artful ways, making the lighting of Bis a constantly shifting work of art.

One of the most orderly districts in the city, Bis is watched over by the Ardoc family, a cabal of golemcrafters bound by blood and marriage who rule with quiet but absolute power. Somewhere between magistrates and mafia dons, most of the Ardoc brothers are content to work in the massive factory workshop known as the Kiln, producing golems and constructs for sale and district use, but all are ready and capable of pronouncing judgment on any found breaking the district’s strict yet just laws.

While any citizen of Bis has the right to request the brothers’ official judgment, most know better than to bother them with trivial matters—even minor crimes—as the chisels that all Ardoc brothers wear on their belts to proclaim their status aren’t just for golem-crafting. Penalties for crimes are generally given in terms of “knuckles,” with the punishment carried out on the spot by the brother passing the sentence. Each knuckle represents the removal of a single f inger joint, with the punishment spread equally across both hands. For example, a criminal sentenced to 10 knuckles—such as a rapist or a major thief—would still have eight single-jointed fingers and two stubby thumbs with which to work and attempt to atone for his misdeeds. Given the nature of the average Kaer Maga resident and the amount of trade that flows through Bis, such mangled digits are common throughout the city.

More often, problems in Bis are solved by simpleminded golems programmed to keep the peace and report incidents to the nearest brother, or else by residents consulting the brothers in an unofficial capacity under the guise of asking advice. While not all brothers possess great wisdom—their status being based entirely on nepotism and magical ability—they are overwhelmingly a lawful and methodical sort and tend to be good at finding logical solutions to conflicts.

Along with the Balconies, Bis is distinguished from other districts primarily by the prevalence of magical constructs. In addition to those creations that act as the eyes and muscle of the Ardocs, close relationships with the Ardocs mean that the citizens of Bis have comparatively cheap and easy access to construct labor. As a result, many houses on the Balconies have simple arcane machines that exist solely to haul up dumbwaiters and elevator platforms, and it’s not uncommon in the marketplace to see twiggy, bird-like messenger golems running errands for their masters.

Finally, you make it to the Duskwarden Guildhouse, a squat building in the district of Bis marked with a placard of the Duskwardens' Twisted Door badge. Within are a few offices for ranking officials of the group, barracks for new recruits (or any member with no other place to sleep), workshops, and a modest store of equipment.Gav will respectfully stay outside and wait for you while you do what business you need to do.

The Scribe and Iluvar go inside to surrender their lesser halflight charms and to give a full accounting of the attack they survived ... and that Abra Lopati and their own friends and coworkers did not, nor the merchant family.

Iluvar, do you have anything to add here?

[Tippnick]

"I will say a prayer for the fallen Duskwarden to Pharasma. Also would gladly say rites for his chosen god if you know of it", Iluvar says to the Duskwarden on duty.

[lostsole31]

"I appreciate your report," says the dwarf on duty, which by his demeanor is also the HMFIC. "The intelligence you gave us will do well for a squad to load up on what is needed to handle this threat. Yes on the prayers; no on the rites. He has his own familiy and religion to see him, and while you might be a Pharasmin, you're an itinerant. No, those at the Godsmouth Ossuary will see to his remains should we recover them."